Mercedes-Benz Continues to Push Alternate Energy Source Initiatives

Alternate energy sources is not a new field for
Mercedes-Benz, who has been exploring their options dating as far back as 1970.
With the end of fossil fuels in sight, automakers across the world are
scrambling to source new options that will maintain them as relevant automakers
in the future. As a leader in high quality automobiles, Mercedes-Benz is well
ahead of the pack in implementing alternate fuel sources to its fleet. The
latest production ready model for the German automaker is the Mercedes-Benz GLC
F-Cell. What is an f-cell you ask?

F-cell is short for Fuel Cell, which is the term coined for
hydrogen power in automobiles. Hydrogen, one of the most common natural gases
found on earth, has been identified as the next possible fuel source for automobiles
amongst several other technologies. Beginning experimentation with hydrogen
fuel has been explored by Mercedes-Benz as early as the 1970’s, yet large scale
production was unimaginable at the time. Fast forward to 2017, where
Mercedes-Benz introduced their latest working fuel cell model, the GLC F-Cell,
to the world at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Starting from a GLC
platform, the GLC F-Cell completely restructures the drivetrain of the SUV by
adding hydrogen tanks and a lithium battery to produce the perfect hybrid, powered
by hydrogen and battery power. So what exactly is the benefit of hydrogen
versus battery powered engines?

On top of being a much easier to source due to its
abundancy, Hydrogen has been a popular fuel source for its energy to weight
ratio and the speed of refueling. Where to a lithium battery for an average hybrid
car takes several hours to fully charge, hydrogen fuel cells can be refilled as
easily as gasoline engines, clocking in as little as 3 minutes. Why isn’t
hydrogen technology more popular? The main issue with hydrogen powered vehicles
at the moment is the lack of infrastructure. Similarly with lithium battery
powered vehicles, finding refueling stations for hydrogen is rather deifficult,
especially in developing countries. This is why Mercedes-Benz is implementing
the GLC F-Cell to its fleet customers in Germany as a test sample. In order to receive real world results and use
the feedback to improve their technology, Mercedes-Benz is holding an exclusive
lease offer for customers in Germany to see the real world application of fuel
cell vehicles, and use that information to further improve its incoming fleet
of hydrogen powered vehicles.

The future is very near, and Mercedes-Benz is doing
everything in its power to stay ahead of the curve.